On Monday, Latvia’s defense minister called for a permanent US military presence in the Baltic state and said Riga wants to boost its defense with US Patriot surface-to-air missiles.
“We need additional international assistance,” Defense Minister Artis Pabriks told Reuters. “We would like to have a permanent United States presence in our country. And sea and air defense means basically going down to such systems as Patriot.”
Pabriks’ comments come ahead of the NATO Foreign Ministerial that Latvia is hosting on Tuesday and Wednesday. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to arrive in Latvia late Monday. There, Blinken is expected to consult with NATO on the alleged Russian troop build-up near Ukraine. A State Department official said Friday that “all options” are on the table for how to respond to Russia’s alleged build-up.
Since Latvia borders Russia, a permanent US presence in the country would be viewed as a significant provocation in Moscow. Over the past few years, the US has deployed troops to Latvia on a rotational basis, and NATO frequently holds military exercises in the country.
Latvia is not the only country in the region asking for more of a US and NATO military presence. Last week, Ukraine’s prime minister called for a “constant” presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea, and Poland’s president called for more troops to be deployed to Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
There seems to be a lot of “asking” (and expecting) going on and it makes me a bit nervous… There are so many ways that these demands for more of a US and NATO presence can further complicate an adequately complicated situation… We’ll have to keep a close eye and see how things continue to develop…I’d much prefer for everyone to maintain the status quo…
ie Can we become your latest vassals? Please.
Absolutely, after all we are treaty partners to defend each other against any and all foreign aggression. But this should be reciprocal. For every US troop stationed there, there should be a Latvian soldier stationed here at our southern border to maintain our territorial integrity. Sounds good?
Personally, I’d prefer the Mexicans.
Very imperial of us. Recruit Mexicans recently entered and send them to Latvia, then bring Latvians here to guard the border. Romans and British both did that sort of thing.
Look at the names of those complainers- the usual suspects who seem not to know that the USSR is no longer present, but they love to keep the “nasty Russkies” idea alive and obsolete NATO keeps up the pretense.
Clearly the Latvians don’t understand the Biden “America’s back” policy…
When the shooting starts, it’s America’s back is just what they’re going to see.
Just ask Afghanistan!